Report: Raptors ink journeyman Garrett Temple to 1-year deal

With the dog days of summer rapidly approaching, it appears as though Bobby Webster and Masai Ujiri aren’t done tinkering with their roster just yet.

The Toronto Raptors signed forward Garrett Temple to a one-year, $3.2-million contract, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday. The deal will only count for $2M+ against the cap as the 10-year-plus veteran minimum, according to The Athletic's Eric Koreen.

The 37-year-old is expected to provide the Raptors with some additional versatility and wing depth while also providing leadership in the room given his wealth of NBA experience.

Toronto marks Temple’s 12th stop in a well-travelled NBA career, having spent the last two seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans in a similar depth capacity.

The 14-year veteran was waived by New Orleans earlier this month after playing limited minutes on a club that clawed its way to a play-in appearance before bowing out to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He averaged just 2.0 points per game last season in 25 contests.

Despite the journeyman’s limited showings last year, a modestly decent first season with the Pelicans in 2021-22 provides some insight into the type of productivity Temple may be able to provide.

A career 33% shooter from beyond the arc — including a 42% clip last season — with solid defence, Temple could give the Raptors some much-needed spacing in small doses.

As for the bigger picture, the move puts the Raptors at 15 guaranteed spots, with about $1.9M in wiggle room under the luxury tax. The club also now has just one final spot open for training camp, with Jeff Dowtin Jr. signed to a training camp deal alongside three others inked to two-way contracts.

Over the course of 716 NBA games, Temple has averaged 6.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists.